Mulan Momo
by fantasy shadow
Summary: Ever wondered what it would be like to have your fav characters live out a Disney dream? Momo finds herself in a crazy situation; serving under a hunky Toushiro, in the military. To bad she must disguise herself as a boy in order to save her familys honor
1. fiancée fiasco

Momo studied her arm, the fresh ink black as the guilt she held. She had to have it, though; otherwise she'd never make it through the day.

The kimono wrapped tightly around her torso, cutting off her air ways.

_Why is fashion always so uncomfortable?_ She asked herself, adjusting the tight obi belt, or belts', considering it was made of a number of sashes.

A soft knock sounded from the other side of a thin paper shoji screen separating her room from the rest of the tiny house she resided in.

"How does it fit?" A friendly old voice added with the nock, not bothering with the door before starting the conversation.

"It fits fine, obaasan" Momo croaked, tugging at the bow on her back in an attempt to gain back her breath.

Hinamori Momo's Grandmother peaked in, curiosity overcoming her. A strange, proud expression lit up her face and she expelled a delighted gasp as she studied her granddaughter.

Momo was dressed in a simple baby blue kimono with a few birds and flowers splashed across the print. Her hair was up in a bun, a decorative bundle of flowers pinning it to her head.

"My word, child, you look simply magnificent. If the boy does not approve of you, I will have a hard time believing it."

Momo blushed and found an interesting spot on the floor which she continued to study as she gave her grandmother her whispered response. "Obaasan, I don't think he's going to like me. I mean we haven't even met." She looked up at her with worried eyes. "I mean, it's not that I don't want to marry him, it'd be an honour to do so, but are you sure he doesn't have anyone else in mind?"

Momo's grandmother sighed. "Dear, some time you're going to have to earn yourself a back bone. No man wants an indecisive woman." Momo nodded grimly. "Regardless, you have much more to offer than the rest of the silly girls in this district, all five of them." She gave a chuckle before continuing. "Besides, our families have been friends for generations and it is about time we interlinked. Do you not want to be the pride of this family?"

Momo shook her head profusely. "No! No, Obaasan! I would be delighted to carry this duty, and make my parents proud."

Her grandmother smiled warmly before eyeing her hidden arm. "What have you got there?"

Momo's face lit up with chagrin as her grandmother caught her arm. _Drat, caught red, I mean black handed._

The old woman studied the chalky writing scribbled across Momo's forearm, laughing at the simple instructions;

Smile at all times and laugh at all jokes

Talk slowly and clearly and not too much!

Be polite and no eating in front of him!

"I, I wanted to make sure I didn't mess up." Momo cried out in response to her Grandmothers amused stares.

"Very well then, if it makes you feel more comfortable." She chuckled. "Just remember to keep it hidden."

"Yes ma'am!" Momo chirped, pulling her sleeve firmly over the writing and presenting her now covered arm to her grandmother, who approved with another small chuckle.

"Well, I'd best be off. It wouldn't be very good if I were to be late for my first meeting with my maybe soon-to-be husband." Momo's grandmother gave her a quick good luck hug before she bound out of the room, slipping on her simple sandals. Her grandparents had spent so much money on the fancy kimono, she wouldn't dare complain about the worn sandals, besides, they were her lucky sandals, and she needed all the luck she could get.

Before heading out the door, she got a quick glimpse of her grandfather from the kitchen. Something gooey was crusted on his cheek and the faint smell of carrot cake wafted from the tiny stove.

_Oh no! They can't be making a cake for me! _Momo thought, mortified. She stumbled out of her tiny home, dreading an unsuccessful return.

The door of her suitor's house stood ajar but Momo still hesitated to enter. This was for two reasons. One, she was scared out of her mind, and Two, she wasn't even sure that was the right house. She was so nervous; she didn't doubt that she mistook the house for another.

"You think she's going to come in, or just stand out there until she becomes apart of our front yard." A stern sounding woman questioned from within the building. Momo squeaked, knowing this was not the perfect start to a first meeting.

"I'm so sorry!" Momo blurted out as she rushed into the house.

A woman stood near the entrance, her regal appearance made Momo assume she was the one who had whispered. Beside her stood a lanky elder man, bearing a gruff bear and drunken smile. The contrast between the two was almost comical. If Momo had not been so nervous, she may have even given a slight chuckle. However, she was in no mood to laugh. Her stomach was doing flips, and the words that were floating in her mouth refused to escape her sealed lips as she stared up at the scowling woman.

"Well?" She demanded after a few terrifying moments at the front door. "Are you going to come in, or not?"

Momo instantly bowed in apology and with a quick "Yes ma'am", took her sandals off and followed the older lady and her drunken husband through their quaint home. After touring the kitchen and living room, the woman stopped at the entrance to one room. She looked back at Momo with a heart stopping glare before opening the shoji screen.

Sitting at the low table sat what she assume was her fiancée. He, like his father, was lanky. He had the stern jaw of his mother though. Unconsciously, she rated his features. Of all the males she had seen, he was probably only mediocre, a mild 5, most likely being generous.

The boy's mother gave her a shove into the room and announced she would go make some tea. As she shut the door, the room became very silent. Momo stood awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, debating on what she should do.

Finally, the boy spoke. In a not quite mature voice he addressed himself.

"My name is Tatsukichi. I've heard so much about you, Miss Hinamori."

Of course. Since they were little, although they did not meet, their families often spoke of the other. Momo had never been too interested in it as a child, but she always listened politely to her Ooba-sans rants.

Tatsukichi gestured for Momo to take a seat, and she did.

They talked for a few minutes about trivial things, weather, sports, and hobbies. Momo consistently looked down at her hands to remember what she needed to do. She smiled widely when she was not talking, and laughed politely, if not a bit forced, at everything she thought should be funny.

Obviously, the chemistry wasn't there. Still, she was determined to keep her families pride.

This all went down the tube when Tatsukichi's mother came in with two cups of steaming hot tea.

As she approached the table, Momo quickly stood to help her with the tray. As she took a step forward, however, she felt her feet sliding on a pillow that had been foolishly left on the floor. She pitched forward, knocking into the woman, steaming tea spilling all over her. The woman shrieked and stumbled backwards, her face one of shock and incredible pain. Without thinking, Momo tried to wipe the hot tea off with her sleeve, but as soon as her arm touched the damp clothes, the ink she had plastered on suddenly transferred onto her beautiful kimono, black smudging across the whole front.

The woman quickly swatted her and her efforts away, standing up straight to resume her dignity. This didn't last long for as soon as she caught sight of the black on her kimono, she flipped.

Momo was out of the house in record time, catching herself from the force of the shove. She cringed as the door slammed hard behind her.

This was not her day.

She dragged herself back home, not wanting to face her grandparents. She felt like she just let them and her entire family down. Before she went home to face the disappointed faces of those she loved, she took a trip down to a small shrine-the only one in the village- and prayed for forgiveness.

The shrine was small, and located in the villages pride and joy, the small gathering of plum trees that allowed the small village to prosper relatively enough. The shrine was meant to honour Rafusen, the spirit of the plum tree. The legend of Rafusen goes that one day; the Sui dynasty Zhao Shixiong climbed MT. Lofu. Entering a wine shop to warm himself, he encountered a beautiful woman wearing a white gown and white face powder. Her fragrance and voice were equally sweet, upon exchanging wine cups with her; he fell into an intoxicated sleep. Awakened by the cold dawn wind, Zhao found himself under a blossoming plum tree and realized that the beautiful woman of the previous night was the spirit of the plum tree. Depictions typically showed a beautiful Chinese court lady standing in front of a flowering prunus.

She eyed the beautiful sword that lay in front of the shrine; its purpose was meant as a medium to send their prayers to Rafusen. It had always produced quite a lure to her, though she couldn't understand why. It was beautiful, with its long narrow blade, and its beautiful red handle bearing cute five pedal flower designs on the rectangular cross guard, but it was just a sword.

Momo pushed off of her knees with a large sigh, knowing what was coming next.

"They're going to be crushed."


	2. Dire Decision

The number of horses and people gathered near her small house sent butterflies coursing through Momo's stomach. The official look of the dark stags, with their armoured bodies and chopped tails, they looked exactly as if they were going to war.

Momo gasped. "It couldn't be!" She ran through the crowd, pushing towards her house.

As she finally broke through the pressing mass, she was able to locate her grandparents easily. They were standing infront of a clad horseman, her Jiji holding one of those cursed scrolls.

Momo ran to them, screaming at her Jiji not to accept it. Her Jiji merely pushed her aside, gave a deep bow to the horseman, and walked boldly into the house. Momo gave the horseman her own farewell-a dark glare- before chasing after him.

She didn't want to fight, she had never ever raised her voice to either grandparent, but that scroll was like a death sentence. As soon as he was in his arm chair, Momo burst, starting her rant.

"They can't do that! Jiji! You're not fit to serve in the war! They should take someone younger!"

Her Jiji turned to light a smoke, one of the few he had. "Momo that is enough. I will go. Please do not make this hard. There is nothing you can do."

Momo let out a frustrated growl, a sharp sob tearing through her throat. She dashed to her room, and was glad for the close proximity or else she would have never made it to her bed before the sobs came. Shortly after the waterworks had started, her Obaasan slid into the room, settling on the edge of her bed.

"Plum blossom." She cooed, using her nickname for her. "Dear, you mustn't cry. We need to be strong for your Jiji, he is going to do a brave thing, protecting us."

"It's not fair! Obaasan! It's just not fair!" Momo cried. "He's already contributed to the war, why must he go out again?"

"Hush hush, He is doing it because they need more warriors. Since we do not have a son, and thank heavens for that, he must go."

"I should have been a boy!" Momo growled, hating her weakness.

"Momo Hinamori! I do not want to hear that from you, ever! If you were a boy, you would not be my little plum blossom!"

"Sorry Obaasan." Momo whispered, regretting what she had said. She loved being a girl.

Momo gave out a small yawn; all that crying had made her dreadfully tired. Her Obaasan patted her on the back and walked to her door.

"By the way, I will talk to Tatsukichi's mother, I'm sure she can give you another chance." Her Obaasan smiled, and then disappeared beyond the door.

Momo scowled. How did her Obaasan know these things? Besides, she had more important things to worry about than getting second chances for people she didn't even know. She wanted to help her Jiji. She just didn't know how.

As the night lengthened, and the final rays of the horrid day's sun died out leaving the air dark and foreboding, Momo left her room.

The idea had come to her during her conversation with her Obaasan. They needed a man to take her Jiji's place, and she knew she would bring them no honour as a girl.

She slipped into her Jiji's bedroom, grabbing the scroll from his bedside table and replacing it with the small flower barrette she had worn that day.

She opened his wardrobe to find his war attire, crisp and clean as it had been so many years before when he had rightfully served.

Before setting off, she journeyed back to the small shrine to pay her last respects.

As she prayed, her eye caught once more on the sword. The idea that was pressing in her mind made her shun herself, for it was brash and horrible. But she couldn't help it. The sword called to her. With a last lusting gaze, she stole it in her hands, running her fingers over the sharp blade, and fitting them to the handle. She wanted to test its sharpness. She looked around for something to cut, but found nothing that wasn't sacred. She remembered how her hair had grown quite a bit, and that it would be far too long to pass for a male, so without hesitation, she gathered her hair, and ran the sword swiftly through it. The blade felt like it had been sharpened that day, sliding through her thick hair with ease. As the pieces floated to the ground, she didn't bother to pick them up. She wanted everyone to know she had taken it, and that it would hopefully serve their village, and everything else. She found peace at this honourable thought, and raced out to her petty horse, its small frame not fit for combat either. It was only meant to serve her until she reached her destination.


	3. Risky Rice

The walls of the camp towered over Momo as she stood at the entrance. The entire trip there she had been rehearsing her man voice. She had a few male friends, so she was able to practice their mannerisms. She got it all down to two words; Tough, and gross. Anything fitting in those two categories was ok.

The camp was large, with tents everywhere, along with men. Short men, tall men, skinny men, fat men, it was like an assembly line of guys. She walked through the camp, understanding only further their behaviourisms. One guy was even swabbing the gook out of his ears using a large clump of his own hair.

"Eww." She heard someone say from behind her. It was a female voice, so Momo curiously looked around for its owner. She found none, and contemplated her sanity.

As she neared the middle of the camp, she came across a small grouping of people; one was showing off his incredible display of tattoos, claiming them to protect him from harm. Another one, bearing a tattoo of his own on his cheek, gave him a swift punch in the gut, and seeing the male double over, proceeded to laugh hard with the rest of the small group. Momo thought to join them, but didn't know how. She decided a good punch in the back would suit them right, aiming for the one who had just punched the tattooed guy.

Her punch hit hard, pushing him into one of his other friends, a wimpy looking fellow with strange blonde hair that shadowed one of his eyes. The One she had punched looked ready to strike back, so Momo did the only thing she new how to do. Duck and Flee. As she did so, his punch, aimed for her, hit the tattooed guy once more.

As she toured the camp further, partially trying to avoid the boys she had just encountered, she noticed a long line of men. Intrigued, she ventured over to them. At the end of the long line was one man serving what seemed to be rice. She remembered the trek there had taken all night, and most of the next day, so she figured they were lining up for lunch. She decided to join the end of the line, seeing as she had obviously skipped breakfast. All the excitement and new things about the place had distracted her from any signs of hunger. As she stood there, though, she agreed that she was, indeed starving.

She waited in line, fidgeting and whistling to pass the time until she was at the front.

As she reached the cauldron of rice, a seductive aroma wafted up and enticed her saliva glands. The result created a small stream of dribble flowing down her chin. She quickly wiped it away in embarrassment, but was almost pleased with her nearly manly response.

As the man handed her a huge helping, she heard a rumble from behind her. The guys from earlier had, in fact, chased after her, after they had settled their own dispute, it seemed, since the guy with the tattoo on his cheek had a nicely shaped bruise on his right cheek. They had yet to spot her, so she decidedly started to creep away. Unfortunately, the large pot was propped up with wooden legs. This did not aid her in her escape. In fact, as she tripped over it, it decided to give way under the strain of the pot, rice spilling everywhere. To her even greater dismay, it didn't stop their. As the pot swayed unevenly, the cook attempted to save it, by grabbing the neck of the pot in a choke hold. The poor guy got pulled by its forward sway and ended up giving it enough momentum to completely knock it over. Too bad the line of men was so pressing to get the rice. The cauldron knocked them over easily, giving a domino effect as the long line of guys slowly deteriorated into a messy heap.

Momo gasped at the sight, rice spilt everywhere and body's heaped on the ground. All resulted by her clumsiness. She thought it best to run and hide, but decided to stand her ground, or at least get up off of it, so she wouldn't be seen as such a coward.

The malicious looks on the men's faces as they lifted themselves off the ground made Momo wish she had chosen to flea.


	4. Captivating Captain

The Captain exited from his tent. As he did so, he discovered before him a most intriguing situation. He gave out a small chuckle before proceeding towards the group.

"And who might be the culprit of this mess?" He asked. All the malicious stares were interrupted by his soothing voice. All the men, up and ready to pound on Momo, stopped and looked at the captain.

Momo, finding herself saved, looked to her hero. With a sharp gasp, she found herself staring it a beautiful man. He didn't look like a captain. He was by no means gruff, his appearance clean cut, his soft brown hair falling in pieces on his strong face. The glasses he wore added to his calm looking appearance. She found she could only look at him with the utmost respect.

It was obvious the others felt the same because they instantly dropped their stances and turned to him in submission. An overly ratty man shoved to the front and pointed directly at Momo, an answer to the Captains earlier question. Momo's hands raised in protest.

The captain walked calmly to her, his soothing smile never leaving his face. As he reached her, he raised his hand. She prepared for a strike, turning her face away in anticipation, but instead of a cold smack she felt a warm pat on her small head. She looked up to him to see his smile lighting up brighter.

"It's ok, little one, I'm sure it was an accident."

Momo almost cried. It was the first time a man actually acted decently. Not only that, he had a fabulous smell about him.

_It must be something men who have fought lots of brave wars could only attain. _She thought, breathing deeply as his sent flooded her nostrils.

"Now, I'm sure you can all forget your differences and become good friends." He said kindly, looking at the crowd of men with a warm, but serious stare.

The men instantly responded with sharp nods and quiet murmurs of consent.

One last warm glance at Momo and the captain was off, to what ever destination he had been going to before.

--~--

The small tent Momo resided in was nothing compared to her comfy room, but it was enough. She set the small amount of stuff she possessed to the side and flopped down on her small futon. She was dead tired, but decided to mull over the days events before getting some shut eye.

It had been a long day; that was for sure. Since she arrived at the camp, she witnessed some strange stuff. First was the gross happenings of the daily man, then the angry group of boys leading to a rice spill and a meeting with the most amazing man ever…

Momo stopped her thoughts there, focusing on the Captain. She wished she had asked his name, she was so entranced, she couldn't even speak. She wanted to see him again. Hopefully, when they went out to war-if she lasted that long without getting found out- She could serve beside him and defeat the hollows. She wanted to work hard so she could achieve that. That would be her goal.

Slowly, sleep touched her, lulling her into a well deserved and peaceful sleep.

"Goodnight" She heard the woman's voice again. Maybe it was her mother guiding her through this mess. She let that thought hang as sleep fully overcame her.


	5. Perfect Plan

Irritating. That was what Momo labelled the in secant buzzing in her ear. She had grudgingly woken up to it. The persistent ring provided a most annoying alarm clock. It didn't quit no matter her efforts. Yawning, stretching, hitting herself with her pillow, smacking her head on the ground, talking to herself-which made her feel absolutely ridiculous despite her other actions being nearly as bad- She just couldn't get rid of it.

Finally giving up, she reluctantly got out of her now screwed up bed, the thin sheets spread out across the tents surface.

She got dressed, putting on some clean practice closes, a simple tanned colour. It felt odd always wearing pants. She was used to her small yukata. It was an OK change though. At least she could do basically whatever she wanted without having to worry about having her panties showing.

The sun was surprisingly high in the sky when she finally made her way out of the tent. As soon as she was outside and in the fresh air, the ringing in her ears subdued itself until it was nothing. She felt incredibly relieved by this happening.

As she made her way through the camp, she realized how late she really was. The Tent area was completely deserted, which surprised her. She always thought men liked to sleep.

As she rounded a bend, she found were the group had gone. A large crowd of people were bunched around a most familiar spot.

_Breakfast. _Momo realized. She hurried to the mass, pushing her way in. She was surprised when the cook was serving rice, and not oatmeal like she had figured. She guessed that was all they had in stalk, and was merely grateful to be given something at all.

As she pressed into the crowd, she kept finding herself being pushed back. After a few good attempts, she realized they were doing this on purpose. She agreed that this would be a suitable punishment, and turned to leave.

The voice, however, thought not. "What are you doing?" It screamed at her. "If you're going to pretend to be a man, you have to really do it! What you need to do if shove right in there, don't let them push you back, if they do, push harder! That's the only way you'll gain respect!"

Momo was startled by the volume of words the voice was uttering. It was the first time it had spoken so much. Recalling her thoughts the night before, she wondered once more if it was her mother. If it was, she should take her advice.

Momo sucked in a large breath before diving into the crowd once more. She could feel them pushing her back, but taking the advice the voice had given her, she shoved against them.

She could see the break in people where the pot must be. She grunted as a particularly large man slid in front of her. With a last heave of effort, she gave the biggest

Shove she could muster, putting her full body weight into it.

The man fell over. Well, not exactly. He caught himself on another man. The man turned around as the heavy set guy righted himself, glaring up at him. It was the tattooed red head.

"What the hell did you do that for? You nearly knocked me down!" He bellowed.

"Ah, shut your trap." The heavyset man snorted back, unclogging his ears with his pinkie.

"What'd you say to me?"

That's how it started. The tattooed guy pushed the heavyset guy, who nearly crushed Momo, she shoved him back in embarrassment of his close proximity, and he quaintly fell flat into the rice, knocking the pot over, yet again.

But it wasn't over there. The rest of the crew wanted in, so, with a few punches and kicks to start it off, A full out brawl broke out around the knocked out heavyset guy and spilt rice.

Momo crouched down where she was, covering her head with her arms, and waited for it to be over.

---~---

"The Hollows have struck here, here, and here." Captain Aizan Sosuke instructed, indicating to a detailed map of the land. "I will take the main troupes up to this pass, and stop those Hollows before they destroy this village." He continued, pointing at one of the little red squares indicating a village."

The tent flap rustled and an eavesdropping Gin Ichimaru stepped in. "Excellent strategy sir. I do love surprises." He chuckled mischievously to himself.

Aizan turned back to his plan, continuing; "You will stay and train the new recruits. When Gin believes you are ready, you will join us, Captain Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya Toushiro sat, clad in his black uniform, bearing a white cape draping down his shoulders like a coat.

"Captain, well that is such a big responsibility, you sure he can handle this?" Gin asked devilishly, the wide grin never leaving his face.

"Number one in his class, extensive knowledge of training techniques, I believe Hitsugaya will do an excellent job." Aizan smiled genuinely at Hitsugaya.

"I won't let you down." Hitsugaya stated proudly.

"Very well, we will hold a toast to victory at the Emperors palace.

As they left the tent, the sounds of quarrelling grew louder. The scene before them bore nearly all the men in the camp in an all out brawl. Hitsugaya's brimming smirk was replaced by a foul scowl.

As Captain Aizan rode off with his horse, he wished him an earnest good luck, before riding away with the rest of the more experienced troupes.

After the captain and troupes were gone, Hitsugaya decided to take control of the situation. "Soldiers!" He called out in a demanding voice. The group quickly rearranged themselves into a line, pointing at Momo, still quivering on the ground, as the culprit. Captain Hitsugaya peered down at her with almost curious eyes.

Momo noticed him and quickly corrected herself, dusting herself off as best she could before he started his small tyrant.

"I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp." He scolded, his brilliant green-blue eyes quivering in angered embarrassment.

"Sorry." She looked down at the ground. Not only because she, too, was embarrassed, but also, she had found the captain to be disconcertingly handsome. His silver-white hair flared out into spikes around his head, running out and away from his pale forehead. One meagre bang held close to one eye, bouncing slightly when he moved. She cursed herself for noticing these things. _Why are all these men so strange looking, and why must he be so, so…" _She wouldn't let herself finish her thought, besides, the captain was speaking again.

"What's your name?" He asked, the fuse still there.

"Uhh," She still couldn't get his face out of her head, even when she looked away.

"Your commanding officer just asked you a question." Gin sneered.

"Oh! Yeah, I have a name, umm" _Crap! I didn't think about a name! umm, what do I do? What do I call myself, what's a boys name?" _She thought quick, not liking the intense stare she was getting from those beautiful eyes. "My name is umm,

"Masaki the female voice sounded again, she didn't have the time to worry about who said it, or her sanity, for that matter, she was just grateful to have a name.

"Yes, my name is Masaki." _Doesn't that mean flourishing tree? Whatever, at least I have a name now. _

"Masaki? Let me see your admission scroll." Hitsugaya demanded, holding out his hand. Momo sighed and placed the scroll in it. "Isamu Hinamori? I didn't know he had a son."

Momo buffed up, holding her chest high. "Ugh, well, he doesn't like to talk about me much." She tried to show her manliness by hawking a logy, but the spit got caught in her throat and she ended up sputtering.

"Mmm, I can see why." Gin chuckled delightfully.

"Ok gentleman, thanks to your new friend Masaki, you'll spend today picking up every single grain of rice. Then after that, the real work begins." Hitsugaya growled, walking around the crowd, then back to his tent.

Menacing sounds could be heard all around the crowd.

"We're going to have to work on your people skills_"._ The voice echoed through her head, annoying Momo further. "Great. I'm hearing voices. And every guy in this camp wants to kill me. Perfect."


	6. Forseen Fight

Momo awoke to the sounds of jostling and laughter coming from the camp. She had slept in again, and on her first training day no less. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her sword, and ran to the camp, where the noise was coming from. The guys from earlier greeted her, the red head asking her if she was hungry, gesturing that what she would get was a knuckle sandwich.

Before any such things could happen, his voice brought order once again. "Soldiers!" Hitsugaya shouted, walking up to a bin carrying a large load of wooden swords. He was wearing a black shirt that was completely unbuttoned.

She had noticed it before, but Captain Hitsugaya was not very tall. She would be very surprised if he was much taller than her. Still, his body made up for anything he was lacking in the height department. It was very hard to focus of what he was trying to instruct while his lean abdomen and chest were so bare. Still, she made her best effort, threatening to get the boys to hit her if she couldn't concentrate.

"If you listen and work hard, you may survive battle." He had already started. Momo instantly snapped to attention, as if it was an order directed at her.

Behind her, the boy with the red hair and tattoo's gave a gruff chuckle and whispered to the blonde beside him; "Isn't he a little short to be acting so tough?" He sneered, picking on the captain's height.

The blonde haired boy retorted sternly; "Renji! You shouldn't speak about your superiors like that!"

Momo liked this. She wanted very badly to tell this Renji guy off herself, but she was glad that the blonde did at least.

Captain Hitsugaya, out of nowhere thrust the sword he was holding towards Renji, stopping just at the tip of his nose.

"Renji Abarai. You're first." The Captain threw Renji a sword of his own, and ushered the crowd to give them space.

Renji nearly broke down in laughter. Captain Hitsugaya looked puny compared to him, the practice sword nearly half the size of him. Noticing the Captains cold gaze, however, sobered him up.

The Captain let Renji have the first move, because in two steps it would be over. Renji lunged at Hitsugaya, blade aiming for his jugular, but was quickly caught off balance by Hitsugaya's quick movements, having to dodge a shot to the gut. Just as Renji was attempting another strike, Hitsugaya took a swift turn to the left and as Renji fell forward, caught in his momentum, Hitsugaya's sword slid gingerly across his throat. The sword obviously did no damage to Renji, but it was apparent the fight was over.

Hitsugaya corrected himself from his stance and looked over at the other men. "Your challenge is to try to disarm me." He tossed them all practice blades and one by one faced off with them. Momo barely had time to find a stance before she was knocked to the ground.

Everyone tried, and failed. After all the men had gone, and those willing to try again were beaten, they started their real training.

Next, he handed out bamboo rods to everyone.

The day went on, the challenges getting tougher, each one Momo found a way to screw up; either tripping and spilling a container of rice, or accidentally upturning a stone everyone had to step on in a river, resulting in everyone after her loosing balance on the tippy rock and falling in the river, or screaming at the sight of a rather large spider on a bag they had to carry, then refusing to touch the bag while before it was thoroughly searched for any more. The only thing she was remotely good at was her aim, proving at least a little talented with a bow and arrow, though she had to cheat when he added apples to the mix.

By the end of the few days of training, it was apparent she wasn't cut out for it.

Captain Hitsugaya had even given her the horse she had ridden there, leaving her without a backwards glance. It was obvious he wanted her to leave.

As she was doing so, feeling like she had let her family down yet again, Momo noticed one of the practice swords lying carelessly on the ground. The Captains challenge rang in her head.

All night she practiced, perfecting her strikes and jabs, and creating moves that would make up for her lack of strength.

By dawn she was confident in a few of her skills, and believed she could at least impress The Captain with her quick improvement.

With a large yawn, she sat down by a nearby tree and rested. She hadn't counted on falling asleep. The next thing she new, a cold voice was cooing her out of her sleep. As she gained further awareness, she realized it wasn't so much a coo, as an angry lecture. She opened her eyes to see the breathtaking aqua of a beautiful ocean. The aqua flashed ice when her warm brown eyes met his, his gaze turning away from her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing sleeping out here, bed wetter?!" He bellowed. "If we wanted sick recruits, we'd have asked the hospitals."

Momo wasn't sure if Hitsugaya yelling at her not to sleep outside was because he cared, or because she would be a burden to him if she was sick. It shouldn't matter anyways, since he had dismissed her.

She gave a sudden gasp of recollection. The reason she had fallen asleep outside in the first place was because she wanted to restore some honour, meaning a fight with the Captain.

"Sir," Momo piped up, avoiding his furious stare. "I would like to challenge you to another match, and if I knock it out of your hands, may I stay here?"

Captain Hitsugaya's expression changed drastically. His eyebrows hit his hair line and his usually cold, blocked off eyes showed curiosity. After a few seconds of thinking the proposal over, he slowly nodded his head.

"Very well." He replied shortly, walking swiftly away from her.

Momo picked herself off the ground and dusted herself off. She stretched before the Captain returned bearing two practice swords in his hands. He held one sword out to her, and she took it, replying with a thank you. Hitsugaya shook his head at her politeness and got into a ready position. It was obvious he was going to go easy on her. It seemed out of character for the cold Captain to underestimate anyone, though he had fought Momo before, and taking that into account, it was understandable.

They started of with simple movements, strikes and blocks, rotating around in a circle. Sometimes, one would duck at a swing and counter with a blow to the side, but overall, it wasn't very trying.

Annoyed, Momo began playing with the combinations she had come up with that night. She would strike, then duck to the right, then jab and jump back. She was pretty quick, so she used this to her advantage. After a minute of square fighting, the Captain turned it up a notch, testing Momo.

Undeterred, Momo dodged his attacks, and even got a few in of her own. Soon, however, it began to wear on her. One thing she wasn't used too was the strain of a long fight. Her guard dropped more, and her movements were slower. Hitsugaya noticed this, and grew more intense. It was obvious he was trying to end this. Momo gave it her all, though the most she could do was block his oncoming attacks. She knew she was going to loose this battle, and she dreaded the shameful return home. She almost wished the sword was real. While she was distracted, the Captain took an aim at her head. She noticed to slow, and as she was ducking, the sword caught on her bun, pulling the elastic out of its place.

She felt the thin strands of hair fall onto her face and around her shoulders, the movement of her duck catching them in an almost epic frenzy. She looked up at Hitsugaya, hoping for any type of opportunity. When she caught sight of his face, however, the expression was something that made her heart throb almost as much as it scared her.

He looked unguarded, taken aback, and most of all, confused, his usually crinkled eyebrows rose once again, and his eyes shone like the child he looked to be.

What had scared her most had been that insecure look, like something was muddling him, and she thought she knew what.

She had enough sense to take the opportunity that was given to her, and as she slid forward, she thrust her sword at his wrist with all her might.

The sword clattered to the ground, the ringing of victory clouding her senses. Momo had done it. She had disarmed Captain Hitsugaya Toushiro. It wasn't a holey fair win, but it was a win nonetheless.

Quickly, before he got a better look at her, Momo grabbed the small elastic sitting quaintly on the ground and wrapped her hair in it.

Without bothering to gloat, though gloating had never been her style, she ran back to her tent, calling back to the Captain that she'd be at practice in a few minutes.

Captain Hitsugaya stood there, near the tree Momo had slept under, his wrist twitching slightly and his face cold and dark. He wouldn't believe it.


	7. Missing Mother

I'm so sorry guys! I didn't mean to take so long! I just started University so i've been super busy! Please forgive me! And i'll do my best to get this story completed!

I don't own these characters, or Mulan, although it would be super cool if I did!

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"What the hell is wrong with you?" The voice blared in Momo's tender ears.

"What? I thought you'd be happy for me! I just won a fight against the Captain! That means I can stay! Isn't that what you wanted?" Momo whined, clutching her aching head tentatively.

"Yes, but not at the cost of your identity! This is an all male army my friend, do you have any inkling at all of what they would do to you if they found out you were a girl? Can you not get it through your thick head that your identity is your life?"

Momo slipped to the ground, curling her arms around her knees, the excitement of the day quickly wearing away. "I'm so sorry, I, I didn't think. I promise I'll be more careful." She wiped profusely at her eyes, hoping the stinging sensation would pass without the embarrassment of shedding tears.

"You're right! You didn't think!" The voice continued, taking a deep breath. "But it should be alright. You were in mid battle, and all the captain saw was your hair down, which shouldn't be a complete give-away. As long as you avoid him as much as you possibly can and don't draw attention to yourself, things should be fine. There is a war we are preparing for; and a girly-boy won't be high on the investigation list."

"Thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without you, you've helped me through so many thin patches these past few days, I really owe you-" Momo stopped for a second, catching on her words. "Actually, I don't know who you are. Would you please introduce yourself, voice, so I can properly thank you?"

The voice chuckled lightly, creating an airy sensation in Momo's head, relieving some of the pressure it had previously created. "I don't believe now is the correct time to give out such information, though I do believe you will figure things out soon."

"Wait!" Momo panicked. "Can you at least tell me one thing?" She assumed the silence was consent so she continued. "At first I thought I was merely crazy, and I admit I still do, however, one of my other guesses is that, um, well, are you the ghost of my mother, or something?" Momo clenched her hands together tightly, willing the oncoming shaking to stop. She held her breath in anticipation to the voices' answer, hoping with all her might she was actually communicating with the spirit of her dear mother.

When at last the slow sigh of the voice returned, Momo felt her face purpling with lack of oxygen. "With time, silly girl." Was all it recited before drifting away.

"Please! Tell me! If you are my mother! Tell me!" Momo screamed, gasping for breathe as she jumped to her feet. It became obvious the voice had left when Momo found herself standing there still waiting after quite some time had passed. That was when the tears began to fall, slipping down her cheeks and claiming her voice in chocked sobs. She slipped onto her sleeping bag, rustling through her small bag of belongings before coming across a small wooden folder. She quickly untied the two knots holding the wood together. As she folded one sheet of wood behind the other, she gazed at the family she could only visit in her memories. Her hand slipped over the smooth painted faces of her mother and father, holding onto a young giggling Momo. The mothers soft brown eyes stared up warmly at Momo, caught in a beautiful moment of bliss. Momo clutched the thick paper closer to her, doing her best to redirect her still streaming tears away from the fragile remembrance. She lay there, holding the paper until she remembered with dread she had practice to attend to, and she really couldn't afford to miss yet another lesson. She tucked the knotted folder back into her bag, wiping the tears away as best she could before changing into a fresh practice outfit and bounding out of her tent.


	8. Fine Friend

As she ran she did her best to conceal the red rings around her eyes, though she knew if anyone saw her up close in the next few minutes they would know instantly that she had cried. She worked on coming up with an excuse as she joined up with the rest of the group, making sure to steer clear of anyone that might know her, which seemed to be almost everyone after the last two instances. She wedged herself between two men she'd never seen before, and was relieved that they gave her no trouble. Since she was in the back of the group instead of the front where she usually stood, she was also very relieved when she found she could only hear Captain Hitsugaya's voice and not actually see him through the crowd. He began by lecturing the group on their slow progression and threatening them that they would never be ready for battle at that pace. He then began listing the intense program her had planned for the group for the next month, at which he would send a messenger to the chief commander notifying him that they were ready, that is unless they weren't, in which case he would merely cut them all down. Momo knew this was an entirely empty threat, but she appreciated his attempted seriousness in the matter.

To begin the program, the Captain directed the troop to pair off and conduct the soon to be regular warm-up exercises of two-hundred push-ups and sit ups followed by combat skills where the partners would practice the sword, bow and arrow with one-another. Finally would be a jog around the encampment and skill tests.

Momo nearly passed out by the mere volume of things on her list. She couldn't see herself succeeding at this regardless of what trickery she used.

_This must be the Captains way of getting rid of me._ She thought as the group slowly dispersed with their partners. _At least it will be an easy way to kill me. _

She noticed too late that most of the people in the group had already found their partners and left to complete their training. That left only a few people scattered around, most already scurrying to their chosen partners. Momo looked frantically around, wishing more than anything in the world not to be the last one left. Having to share another battle between the Captain, regardless if it was practice, was exactly the opposite of what Momo needed right now.

Luckily, Momo was spared when she found a familiar face bounding up to her, two swords in hand and a grim smile on his pale face. It was the boy with the blonde hair covering one of his eyes who had scolded the Renji boy for talking rudely about the Captain.

"I hope you don't mind, but it's slim pickings right now and I figured we would be better suited sparring against each other since we're probably the closest build wise." The boy stuttered, holding out a wooden sword to the girl.

Momo wasn't sure if she should be happy or insulted by the boys comment, eyeing his lanky awkward build. She decided to wave it off and accepted the sword happily. Better him than the Captain, or Renji for that matter.

"Thank you," She replied, then noticing she didn't even know his name, continued. "Uh, I don't believe we have been formally introduced. My name is Mo, I mean Masaki Hinamori, and Yours?"

The boy gave an awkward smile and replied; "Oh yes, you're the one they call meal snatcher." Momo raised a questioning eyebrow and the boy cleared his throat. "I, I mean my name is Izuru, Kira Izuru. It's nice to meet you."

A gruff noise alerted the two and they turned to see none other than Captain Hitsugaya, an annoyed expression splayed across his face. "I wasn't aware that this was a social get together." He snarled, glaring between the two of them.

"I, I, I, I, I, I ,I…" Izuru stumbled, fumbling with his words. It was obvious he wasn't used to getting in trouble.

"We will start our training right away, sir." Momo replied in her gruffest voice, making sure to keep her face thoroughly hidden from the man.

She felt the Captains stare on her face for a few minutes until he finally let out a grunt and left. _What's eating him?_ Momo huffed.

"H, H, How can you do that?" Momo looked over at Izuru, who was shaking from head to toe, his words closer to stutters than actual sentences.

"Pardon me?" Momo asked, confused by Izuru's question.

"Sp, speak to the Captain, he's so, so, so…" He took a deep breath and finished his sentence. "Scary!"

Momo looked over at the shaking boy and couldn't help but laugh, though after a brief look back to the Captain she quieted herself and dropped to the ground to begin her million push-ups.

Izuru looked at her questioningly, probably wondering if she was insane or not, which still seemed to be an issue she needed to address at some point or other.

After ten legitimate push-ups, Momo threw manliness out the window and reverted to the sissy version, completing them on her knees. Even then she couldn't get past one-hundred without serious help. She looked up at Izuru with a pathetic look on her face. Having recovered his usual stature, Izuru finished his two-hundred push-ups by the time she'd done thirty, and continued on to the sit ups in which he finished when Momo began using a rock to push herself up with. He looked at her, sweat beading on his forehead and placed a suspicious finger to his lips. Momo raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"I won't tell if you don't." He whispered to her. She understood then. He was letting her off the hook.

She could kiss him, if that wasn't viewed as incredibly suspicious and strange behaviour. Instead she settled with a whole hearted thank you. The boy looked like he'd suddenly gotten uncomfortable and his face eased into a slight red, so Momo quickly grabbed the sword he'd given her and began swinging it in steady strikes. Izuru soon followed her, matching their steps and strikes.

"Must have been hard getting that letter." Izuru muttered, forcing Momo to move closer to hear him properly.

"Yes, it really was a horrible thing." She replied, lost in the past before shaking her head and returning. "What about you?"

Izuru nodded between strikes and looked to be lost in his own reverie. "Don't tell anyone but I have always wanted to be a florist." The chagrin returned to his face and Momo did her very best not to blurt out into laughter.

"Oh, really? Well, that must be a real change going to war." She kept her eyes on his watching as his visible eye turned sadder.

"It was either that, or forfeit my pride and dreams, for who would ever buy from a florist who rejected a placement in the army, that is, if I wasn't killed for treason."

Momo nodded, understanding his predicament. She wondered if he could have passed the demand on to another family member, but something about his expression kept her silent.

They followed into easy sparring, learning proper footing and practicing their combinations.

"You know," Izuru started after a few minutes of silence. He hesitated for a moment, and then continued. "Because you were small, that wasn't my only inclination to have you as my partner."

Momo cocked her head, not understanding where he was going with this.

"I mean, well, I didn't really have a partner because Renji partnered with Shuhei, but still, um well I mean, you, you just had this thing about you, like you were sad or something, so I thought maybe I could help, but I see you're ok so it doesn't really matter now." He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, the shaking slowly becoming apparent again.

Momo thought this through, remembering once again her now less swollen eyes. "Well, yes, there was something I was rather upset about, but I think I'm ok now." She gave him a sweet smile she's give most people who worried about her.

His face darkened a few shades and he turned his head away, coughing slightly into his hand. "I. I see, well that's good, but you know, if you ever want to talk with me, it's ok, I'm a good listener, although if you'd rather not, that's ok too!"

Momo waved him off, masking a girlish giggle as best she could with a few grunts. "Thank you, Izuru, I shall keep that in mind."

The man nodded and quickly resumed his new task of stringing a very incompliant bow.

The rest of the day continued smoothly as Momo did what she could until she felt as if she was on the verge of extreme exhaustion. During the lunch break, Izuru brought back a large helping of rice for Momo so she couldn't make her rice tipping into a hat trick. She graciously took it, famished from the work and having had no breakfast.

The afternoon brought on the jog, in which Momo excelled until sandbags were added onto every ones back. Then she struggled even to stay upright. Izuru was kind enough to help her along, even though that meant being far behind the rest of the group, singling himself out as a weakling like her.

By the end of the day, Momo was near crawling, and continuously revisited the idea of passing out on the smooth grass. Izuru didn't take this, though, and forced her to eat dinner and join the group for the Captains final address.

Momo found herself mostly supported by Izuru as they walked back to the tents. She smiled up at him, trying to relay her thanks to him with out exhausting too many muscles. He merely looked onto the horizon and continued supporting her up past his tent and to the hill on which her tent was situated. He only released her when they were at the opening of her tent, when he quickly unlatched his arm from her shoulder like she was some kind of man-eating reptile and stepped a few paces back, ruffling the back of his hair nervously.

_Why the heck is he acting like that?_ Momo wondered, giving him a half questioning glance, which was all she could muster.

"Uh, yeah so see you tomorrow. And try to get some rest." He stuttered, his knees quaking.

"You too." Momo waved slightly before opening her tent zipper and using all her strength to fling herself onto her sleeping bag. She listened as Izuru's feet slowly retreated back to the camp.


	9. Perilous Pond

"Well he's certainly going to have an interesting night wondering about his sexuality." The voice startled Momo to consciousness.

"Huh? What?" She asked blearily, looking around frantically before flopping back into her sleeping bag, remembering the strange voice in her head.

"What do you mean?" She croaked.

"Well obviously he's developing a thing for you. No boy acts like that with another boy unless he's gay or on the brink of death, maybe not even then."

Momo scrunched her eyebrows; an act that still seemed too tough for it's worth. "He was just being nice, wasn't he?"

"If nice is blushing every time you smile and staring at you while you work, then yeah, he was just being nice." The voice replied sarcastically.

"Ok, so what do you think I should do?" Momo didn't like the thought of giving up her new found friend, but if it endangered her, then he had to go.

"For now it seems to be ok, I'm sure without him you'd be lying on the ground dead right now so just reap the benefits as of right now. But we will have to figure out something for the near future, in case he gets too close."

"Ok!" Momo smiled. "I don't like taking advantage of him, but if I can continue being his friend, I would thoroughly enjoy that!"

"You really need to loose the politeness." The voice sighed. "Oh, and take a freaking bath already! I'm dying here!"

Momo sniffed at her clothes. She hadn't bothered changing and now she definitely regretted it. "What time is it?"

"Just past midnight, I believe, perfect time for a dip in the lake." The voice replied cheerily. Seems even she was uncomfortable with Momo's new stench.

Momo slipped out into the brisk air, a basket of dirty clothes in one hand and a mixture of soaps in another. The water looked cold in the tiny pond the camp often visited for baths. Momo dipped a finger in and confirmed the icy temperature with an enormous shiver that traveled through her entire body. She wanted to make this quick.

She began with washing out her clothes, wringing them out and hanging them on a nearby tree to dry as best they could before stripping down and lathering her own body with soap before eyeing the tricky water once more. She figured it would end up being just as cold out of the water as it was underneath if she hesitated any longer, besides, she felt strangely self conscious after all the time she'd spent pretending to be a boy. She almost expected her body to look different, though she was glad it didn't.

Without a further thought, she lunged into the water, making a loud splash that instantly made her wish she'd walked in. The water was as cold as it had promised to be, so she quickly rubbed at the soap on her skin until she figured she was clean enough. She began trudging back up to shore when she heard the voices. She looked between her clothes and the water, deciding at the last minute to dive behind a bush close to her garments in case things got ugly and she needed to make a quick get away. That way she wouldn't have to be running back to her tent in the nude. As the voices grew louder, she dared to snatch one of her shirts off a nearby branch. At least now she was semi clothed.

"Don't you think just going to bed would be nicer? We could have a bath when it's light out and the water's warm."

A familiar voice drifted up to Momo, causing her to groan inwardly. Of course it would be Izuru. And they were bathing, too. Momo decided she hated whoever was controlling her life.

"Last one in has to cut my toenails, with their teeth!" Another familiar voice.

_Renji_ Momo sighed. _The other laughing person must be the Shuhei Izuru was talking about then, too. Great._

A figure ran full speed into the water, creating another loud slap. Momo realized that the contact with the water that she made was nothing to what a full grown man could make. A second figure flew into the water. Finally, a tired looking third slinked into the water.

"Haha! Izuru, enjoy biting my toenails!" Renji pushed a shadowed foot in the presumed Izuru's face. Izuru jumped back, obviously disgusted by the close proximity of Renji's foot.

"That's not fair, guys, I'm really tired, and it's been a long day!" Izuru complained, sinking deeper into the shadowy water.

"Oh yeah, helping out that runt!" Renji sneered.

"He's not a runt! He's just young! I bet he hasn't even reached 15 yet!"

Momo lit up with chagrin; did everyone assume she was so young?

"You sound like a mother!" Renji joked. "Why do you act like that when we talk about him?" His figure leaned closer to Izuru's. "Not blackmailing him or anything are ya? Getting extra food or something? I saw those two rice bowls, or maybe you're getting some special treatment from the captain? He was talking to you, wasn't he?"

"Y,Y,You were spying on me?" Izuru gasped.

"Nah, just observing." Renji snorted, smacking Izuru in the back, forcing him under the freezing water.

The three bathed quickly, feeling the freezing temperatures themselves. As they were finishing up, a sound alerted the three. Momo held her breath in fear it had been her, but she soon noticed a figure walking out of the shadowed forest. A sigh left the figure and the light caught on a brilliant strand of silver. Momo's air caught in her throat as the figure spoke.

"I was hoping I'd be alone." Captain Hitsugaya emerged, stepping into the clearing beside the water.

"Captain!" The three nearly shouted. Izuru leapt out of the waters, however remembering just in time that he was in his birthday suit quickly returned, bright red.

Momo reminded herself to take slow breaths as she regained her composure. She was astronomically relieved that she could only see the silhouettes of the men. She didn't doubt seeing them in the day after a night like that would certainly not allow her to see them the same again. At the very least she would turn bright red anytime they so much as looked her way.

"Come join us, Captain, the water's just you're temperature." Renji chided, standing up with his hands on his hips, seemingly unafraid to show off his manliness, however Momo was convinced he just couldn't stand being in the water any longer.

"Renji!" Izuru squealed, attempting to tug the man back into the water, then being rejected quickly moved to the far corner of the small pond.

Momo risked a glance at the small figure she knew to be her Captain. He hadn't moved an inch since stepping out and looked severely uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the man known as Shuhei cleared his throat, attempting to speak through Renji's annoying jibes. "C'mon, guys, I think the Captain wants to be alone."

Momo decided at once that she really liked that guy. He seemed to hold a very mature air around him, something his friends could learn to achieve. Renji looked ready to argue, but Izuru quickly joined Shuhei, defeating Renji two to one. She was sure Renji would have continued to put up a fight if he had any desires to stay in the water any longer.

The three quickly scampered to their clothes, yanking them onto their soaked and trembling figures before respectfully bowing to the Captain who quickly waived them away. The Captain continued to stand there as the boys retreated back into the woods, Renji's banter slowly dying down until silence once more filled the small clearing.

Captain Hitsugaya let out a long deep sigh before moving to remove his own clothes. Momo wanted ever so badly to flee the premises, but worried that the Captain would hear her. She really couldn't afford to explain something like spying on bathing troupes to him. So she held her position, doing her best not to stare as the figure's last pieces of clothing slipped off him. Her cheeks reddened as he slipped into the freezing waters, his back giving a slight shiver before dunking below the surface. She counted to ten, then twenty, and when she thought he'd actually drowned and she'd have to run and save him, he finally came up, breaking the crisp water with a desperate gasp, his hair draping back against his head and trailing the waters. He really was extraordinarily handsome. She watched as he washed his body clean and took a few laps around the pond.

Finally, after gliding on his back for a while, showing his glistening chest to the clouded moonlight, he decided to get out.

As he towelled his body off, slipping on his dry clothes, Momo made a move to cover her eyes. The rustle the branch made as it caught her sleeve felt like a crack of thunder against the near silence. Instantly the Captains eyes were on the spot she crouched at, glaring right at her. Momo didn't dare move a muscle. Didn't dare breath. Not even blink an eye. They held eye contact for what felt like ages until the Captain slowly averted his gaze, finishing dressing himself.

Momo's insides screeched for air but she refused to move a fraction of an inch, even to take a breath until he was completely out of site, and even then she only sucked in slow breaths until she felt it was ok to release herself into a frenzy of gasps. She stood slowly, stretching her aching limbs.

"What a night."


	10. Fish Frenzy

To all those still following this story, I owe you my biggest apologies. This last break was unfairly long, and I have no excuse as to why I did not get this up much, much sooner. I hope now that I have a steady outline (Finally!) for the plot that I can update quickly, but now that I am back in school I will have less time than ever. A special shout out goes to Farewell FanFiction for the review that made me continue with this story (as I was beginning to think I may stop writing fanfictions for a while). I really appreciate reviews, and if I do start taking a while updating, any encouragment to get me back in the mood is a huge help.

I don't know how good this chapter is as I am quite rusty, but I believe it may be my longest yet and hopefully will satisfy you guys even briefly. I hope to get the action started in the next couple chapters so look out for that!

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Each day the regime grew more intense, but as time passed each of the soldiers became more conditioned. Momo admired the muscle building on her arms and legs, noticing they looked much less scrawny then when she had come in. She had never been in such good shape in her entire life, as she had never needed to be.

The day was slow, one of their few rest periods in which the group got to relax and rest their aching bodies. Momo flopped down on her mat and propped her arms behind her, staring up at the tent canvas. Life at the encampment was getting easier. She made fewer mistakes, and had finally managed to replicate the general behaviours of her fellow man. She still felt embarrassed and reverted back to her quiet, clumsy self if she was to close to one of the boys that she saw in the pond a couple weeks back, but most of them hardly noticed any change in her behaviour, and she did her best to blur that night out of her memories for good.

As she lay, daydreaming of her recent adventures with the rest of the troupes, a certain man kept intruding upon her thoughts. She recounted how the flour bag she was instructed to take on her jogs had become increasingly lighter after that first training day. She also noted that the captain always seemed to have his back turned when she skimmed off 50 or so push-ups and sit-ups. What frustrated her, however, was that she felt like he was ignoring her. She understood that there where quite a few soldiers in the encampment, but she felt as though since her sword fight with them, they would have gotten a bit closer. She feared considerably about whether he had suspected her that day, but as he had not done anything to give her something to worry about, she really wanted to get to know him better. His mysterious behaviour perplexed her greatly, and she wondered if maybe he was holding a grudge against her because of that unfair win. She thought of the easier training and wondered if it really was him that was helping her out, or just luck.

The musing continued until finally she flung her arms up into the air in exasperation. Her mind was getting all muddled up, as it always did when she though of Toushiro Hitsugaya. She decided a refreshing walk was what she needed to clear her head. She brushed past the tent flaps, straightening up to meet the sun, but instead was met with a mans face holding a frazzled expression. Momo looked up curiously at Izuru's anxious features. His hands were wringing themselves and he looked flustered and slightly out of breath. She wondered if he had just gotten to the tent, though knowing how he was, he could have equally been pacing there for a little while. If he had, she hadn't noticed.

"May I help you?" Momo asked in an all too polite tone. She still had to work on the vocabulary.

"Um, yes, well, no, but maybe, um if you want to, but if you don't that's fine too, I just thought, oh, no, I mean the guys thought, but I did to, and now I'm here, but maybe you don't want to…" Izuru rushed, trailing off as his tongue seemed to become tied up by his words.

"Excuse me?" Momo asked, hardly understanding a word of what he had just said. At his look of anxiety, she continued; "Did you want me to go somewhere? Do the guys have something planned?" She guessed, trying to pick out the few things she understood from his speech and piecing them together.

Izuru nodded, then slowly, finding his words again, explained, "Everyone's down by the stream fishing. The captain thought it would be a good idea to have some fish today to build up everyone's strength so he gave everyone fishing rods to catch some fish with."

Momo nodded. "And you came here to ask me if I wanted to join in?" At his slightly too vigorous nod, she continued. "I would love to help, though I don't exactly know how to fish."

Izuru laughed shakily, a huge smile growing on his face. "I know how! Well I mean I can teach you, if you want, though if you don't that's ok too." He began trailing off again and Momo had to stifle a far too girly giggle. She covered it up with a gruff clearing of her throat and stepped a little past him, looking back.

"Great, you'll teach me how to be the best fisher in history so I can beat the tar out of all those sissy's." Momo turned her head back, traipsing down the hill towards the small stream that led through the thin forest beside their camp. Izuru stood for a moment, confusion building up in him before he shrugged it off, following after the girly boy.

The stream was sparkling and clear as schools of fish slithered along the soft current. There where a few boys parked along the bank, their fishing rods poised lazily in their hands, a sharp thread trailing from the top and leading to the crisp waters surface. There weren't nearly as many people as she expected there to be, but as a few boys packed up their poles and hauled the small pail of fish they had collected past her, they idly noted that the fish had stopped biting for a little while. Izuru suggested it was just the time of day, as dinner was only an hour away, but Momo suspected that a large group of rowdy boys may be the cause instead.

Izuru picked out a spot where the water was deeper, so it would be harder to snag rocks and roots on the bottom, and had a better chance of catching fish. Momo sat down beside him, careful not to get too close, both because of the shiny fish hook he was waving around on his rod, and also because of the memories that flashed back to the last time she saw him around a body of water, which made her supremely uncomfortable. Izuru cleared his throat to get her attention, as it had quickly wandered off to other areas in her mind. Momo snapped to attention, determined to help with dinner, as she had messed up so many meals before that.

Izuru showed her how to latch a worm onto the hook, which grossed her out profusely. He then threw his rod back, and then whipped it forward, sending the thread flying far into the middle of the stream. He gave a triumphant smile and turned to Momo. "See? It's easy. After this you just have to wait until something tugs on your line. Then you just have to hoist it quickly out of the water and you have it!"

Momo nodded and turned back to her empty hook, eyeing the bag of worms beside her. Izuru noted her hesitation and quickly grabbed a worm from the bag. "Here, I'll put the worm on for you. If you don't do it right, it could fall off, and then no fish will want to bite onto your line."

Momo nodded and smiled in appreciation as Izuru staked the worm onto the hook and wrapped it around to conceal the deadly point. She sat there for a second, looking perplexed. "Um, ok, now what was the next step? I kind of forgot once I saw the worms."

Izuru laughed, shaking his head. "You are the least manly guy I know, which is a surprise, because Yumichika is just about the most womanly a man can get."

Momo frowned at this and puffed up her chest, glaring at the boy. "I am not! Just teach me how to catch a stupid fish already!"

Izuru quieted his chuckles, putting on a serious face at the sight of the boys' discomfort. "Alright, you just whip the rod back and then forward. You want to get enough momentum so it will hit the middle of the stream, otherwise it could hook on something in the more shallow water." Momo nodded placing her hands securely on her fishing pole and with all her might swung her arms over her head. She then whipped her arms back down in front of her. The line gave a little tug and as she pulled down on the pole and she heard a loud rip coming from behind her, as well as a sharp shriek. Her line went slack at last and sailed over her head, bearing a new lure, a bright red piece of fabric. As the now colourful hook dipped into the stream, much too close now because of its heavier bottom, Momo and Izuru looked behind them.

One of the soldiers was looking behind him, his features stunned and surprised as he assessed his own bare buttocks. He gave another yelp and quickly covered it, looking around at all the eyes watching him curiously. Laughter was already starting to spill from the lips of those who had caught the incident, or who pieced things together quickest. The boy turned bright red and fled from the stream as the rest of the boys erupted into boisterous laughter.

Momo, red herself, slowly looked to Izuru, whose lips had cracked into a grin.

"You don't need any training with weapons when you're so deadly in whatever you do." Izuru blurted, his laughter hard for even him to subdue.

Momo sighed, glaring daggers at the boy. She punched him lamely in the arm as he continued to laugh. "Shut up, it's not funny!" She growled. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Ok, Ok." Izuru calmed, putting his hands up in surrender. "Pull your line back in, and be careful not to snag it on anything else." Momo gave him a cold glare before he added "Like rocks and roots!"

When she finally managed to reel the line back in after snagging it yet again along some large rocks, she pulled the hook onto her lap, detangling the red swim short cloth from it. "Ok, so now you want to do the same thing you did last time, but this time don't hesitate before whipping the line forward and try to do it on more of an angle so it's less likely to snag on anything in the area." Momo nodded, placing her hands once again on the pole. As she was preparing to send the line flying, Izuru stopped her. "Wait, you want to hold the pole looser, and a little more like, here, let me show you." He scooted over to Momo and placed his hands on hers, spreading them slightly, and indicating that she needed to hold it with a looser grip.

"Oh, ok I think I get it! Thanks Izuru!" Momo turned her head to meet Izuru's face inches away from hers. His face suddenly turned five shades darker and he quickly released his hands from hers, which soon became clammy and sweaty. He coughed and scooted farther away than he had been before. He gestured with his shaking hands for her to try it out. Momo gave him a questioning glance, wondering what his strange behaviour was about, before complying. She loosened her grip, angled her throw, and checked behind her just to make sure there weren't any unsuspecting passerby's around. She then cast the line, and to her delight it landed just short of the middle of the stream. Izuru clapped a few times lamely, before recasting his own rod.

They sat like that for a good half hour without any bites from the fish. Izuru shifted after a bit, bobbing his fishing rod up and down, boredom overcoming him. "Well I guess Joey was right, there really aren't any fish biting." After a few more minutes, as his rod once again returned to him untouched, he huffed and stood up. "Dinner should be ready shortly; did you want to head over there to get a good spot in line? All the big fish will be taken first."

Momo shook her head, gazing across the stream at what she assumed to be some white fluffy bunnies grazing in the bushes. "Nah, m' ok, I think I'm just going to stay here for a bit longer."

"Are you sure?" Izuru asked, torn between staying with her and getting dinner. His stomach was growling and he really did want to get a good piece of the delicious fish, but he felt bad for abandoning the young boy, and after all, he'd asked him down, if only to spend some time with the intriguing young man. He'd learnt so much from their small conversations over their training and again today while fishing. He now knew that Masaki was an only child, and had taken his grandfathers position in the army. He had also been told that the boy was 17, but that fact was something he was not quite ready to believe. He had also told the boy a little bit more about himself, relinquishing the story of his poor mother, bringing up two girls and himself on her own. His mother sold flowers for a living and taught him all about the many flowers in her garden. That was what his basis was on wanting to be a florist.

"Yeah, just go, I'm all good here." Momo answered absentmindedly, her gaze far away.

"Ok well I'll try and save you something for when you get back. You're going to need your strength for training tomorrow, I hear the intensity is going to become worse from here on out." Izuru waited until he received a half-assed nod from Momo. He then turned and walked back to the camp, his mind in the clouds.

Once Izuru's footsteps had faded into the distance, Momo heaved a sigh and sprawled out beside the banks. She gazed up at the sky. The blue was less pale as in the morning, and darkening quickly as the seasons slowly changed to a much more chilly weather. She thought of someone who would be enjoying the cooler nights. As she mused on this thought, she heard a rustle in the bushes where she had seen the bunnies. Lazily she turned her gaze over to the little white ball of fur hovering a little further into the forest. Momo propped herself up on her elbow and studied the white patch harder, perplexed with the placement of it. The ball seemed to be hovering waist high in the bushes, bobbing slowly from side to side. Something tugged at Momo's memory and she was certain she'd seen that white ball before. She couldn't remember where, and as she studied it further, she realized it couldn't be a bunny, like she'd thought it was. Bunnies couldn't climb trees, and most certainly couldn't hover in mid air. She resolved to check it out. She had been determined to catch some sort of fish before she'd head back but it seemed quite unlikely at this point, and her curiosity pulled her to investigate the white blob.

A little further down the stream it got quite a bit narrower, enough for her to jump across, at any rate. With a running start, she leapt between the banks, and slowly crept back to the place she saw the little white patch. As she made her way deeper into the woods, she caught sight of the white tuft. It drifted in and out of her view as she crept towards a tree that was blocking her view. Finally she tip toed past the last big tree and came face to face with a dozing Captain Hitsugaya. She nearly shrieked when she found out it was a man, and then nearly shrieked again when she noticed it was her Captain, all defences down, resting against the stump of a fallen tree. She looked around, confused as to why he was in such an odd location. To her right she noticed the stream that she had been fishing at had forked into two further down the stream, creating a little island where they were. Sitting loosely in his hands was a fishing rod, and on his left side stood a pail full of big dead fish. It seemed like the captain knew exactly where the best place to fish was. Momo wondered if he often took naps in obscure places, or if this was just an accident.

She crouched down and admired the young Captain. She couldn't believe how young he looked, now that his eyebrows weren't mashed together in a scowl. He looked like he could be even younger than her. Especially considering his height, which couldn't possibly be more than her, if even her height. Getting a closer look at him she realized just how beautiful he really was. His skin was soft and smooth, rich with a light tan, something most girls would dream of. And that adorable white hair, which often made him look like an old geezer from the back.

"You done inspecting me yet?" The voice startled Momo, who was leaning in almost nose to nose with the Captain. She sprang back, loosing her footing, and fell back onto the ground, surprise and chagrin lighting up her features. One glowing green eye broke from its lidded tomb and glowered at Momo.

"No,No I, I was just, I didn't mean to, you were just," Momo stuttered. _Oh man, I sound just like Izuru now!_ She thought, trying to think of a suitable explanation.

"That's enough." Captain Hitsugaya announced, silencing her sputtering. "Why are you here?"

Momo took a moment to compose herself, then answered as best she could, "I thought I saw something in the bushes and wanted to check it out. I ended up stumbling upon you, and um, I just wanted to see if you were really sleeping."

"Normal people don't examine those who are resting, unless they want to be run through." The Captain warned, gesturing slightly to the dagger strapped around his belt.

"Ah, yes, well I will do my best to umm, not do that." Momo fumbled once again with her words. He was making her nervous, especially now that he probably thought she was some creep who liked to watch her superior as he sleeps. "I'll uh, go now, you probably want to rest." Momo made to run away, but the Captain stopped her.

"You've already woken me, you may as well stay." He told her, gesturing for her to sit down. She complied.

"Why don't you try to catch a few more fish?" He suggested coolly, his posture relaxed against the tree trunk, her arms resting behind his head. His eyes however stared attentively at the girl as she scrambled to pick up the pole he had placed beside him when she interrupted his rest. She scooted down the bank so there was at least two meters between them before attempting to skewer the worm she'd grabbed onto the hook.

The worm squirmed constantly in between her fingers and she felt nauseous looking at it. Every time she tried to stab it with the end of the hook it seemed to dodge and wriggle further into her grasp.

"Oh come on!" She snarled, trying to reassert her grasp on the slippery creature. She was battling the acid building up in the back of her throat. She would definitely not puke in front of her Captain, no less because of a stupid worm.

Cold hands slid around hers as she struggled. She let out a small gasp as she realized how close the Captain was to her. Pressed against her back, the Captain grasped the part of the worm sticking out from her hand and with his other hand guided her own which was holding the hook until it pressed firmly into the worms' exterior. With a quick motion, he pierced the hook through the wriggling creature, then guided Momo's hand and wrapped the worm around the hook.

"There." He whispered, his breath tickling her ear. She'd tried to focus on what his hands where trying to show her, but feeling the Captain so close to her, nearly embracing her, she couldn't seem to focus on anything other than the incredibly soft skin of his hands, the lean muscle building his small arms that were brushing against her shoulders as he guided her hands. His chest felt surprisingly warm considering how cold he always seemed to be. She became more engulfed by him, noting the smell of pine that clung to him and the way he quirked a lopsided grin when he'd finished hooking the worm. It was a sharp startle when he suddenly released her and stood abruptly, wiping the slime from the worm onto his pristine Captains clothes. His eyes, which had previously been keeping a steady watch on her, were now anywhere but her. He looked to the trees as he instructed her to cast her line.

She stared up at him, wanting nothing more than to ask him to return to his previous position. She thought briefly to ask him to show her how to properly cast the line, but thought better of it. As she focused on the last couple of minutes, it dawned on her that the way he had behaved would possibly seem odd between two boys. She couldn't see someone like Renji doing such things, much less the captain. Izuru had helped her, however, so she proposed that maybe certain guys liked to teach hands on.

The sound of a throat clearing alerted her back from her reverie and she looked up to see the Captain, his eyes finally focused back on her. He nodded towards the rod with an expectant look. "Don't you know how to cast a line?" He quizzed her, cocking a brow.

"Oh, yeah, yes I do!" She grabbed the rod securely with her hands, but couldn't remember the way Izuru had told her how to hold it while Captain Hitsugaya was watching her like that. She threw her arms back hard, hoping to reach an impressive distance in the lake. She heard a soft rustle above her before she whipped her arms forward.

"No, stop!" Captain Hitsugaya yelled as she thrust her arms forward, sending her pole forward. She sighted that yet again her line was taught but couldn't make sense of how or why the Captain had yelled until she finished her forward thrust and the line once again went loose. Her eyes followed the line up to the hook, which was now encased in a large yellow ball coming towards her. Before she could understand what the ball was, a hard force shoved her forwards, sending her splashing into the stream.

Captain Hitsugaya grabbed her waist roughly and dragged her under the water, pushing her deeper into the center of the stream. She couldn't make sense of the situation. As she struggled to hold onto her remaining supply of air, she fought against the Captains restraints. _Why is she trying to drown me?_ She cried, panicking as her lungs began to burn. The boy towed her further away from the bank, swimming diagonally with the current. Finally, as she started a last ditch effort of clawing his arm, they broke the surface of the stream.

Momo inhaled as much oxygen as she could manage, then exhaled and repeated the same task hastily until she felt her lungs relax and the panic dissipate. They were now quite a distance from their last post, and stood only feet away from the other side of the stream. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She finally screeched, ripping away from the scratched arm still slung around her waist. "Are you trying to kill me or something? Do you hate me that much?"

"Shut up." The Captain coughed, trying to catch his own breath. "I just saved you from an enormous amount of pain!"

"You tried to drown me!" She accused, emphasizing the word drown to somehow strengthen her argument.

"I was getting you away from that wasp nest you snagged!" The boy countered furiously, trudging towards the opposite embankment.

"You were, wait what?" Momo thought back to the yellow bulge coming towards her before she was thrown into the stream. "That was a wasp nest?"

The Captain looked back at her with an incredulous look, then turned back to pull himself over the grassy ledge that led him to land.

Momo thought things over briefly before understanding what really happened. The Captain had yelled at her to stop because he had seen what her line had hooked onto, then seeing that she was going to drop it right on herself had pushed her in the water and dragged her away from the scene so the wasps wouldn't know what to attack for the destruction of their nest.

"I guess I have to give you my thanks." She trudged up to the ledge where she could view the Captain laying down on the grass a few feet away. She climbed onto the grassy surface and walked over to the boy, water droplets splattering onto his face.

"Do you mind?" He growled, swatting her away with the hand that wasn't resting over his eyes.

The girl sat down beside him, squeezing out her heavy clothes as she thought of what to say now that she had just acted so rudely towards him when he was only trying to help. "Thank you for saving me back their, and uh, I'm sorry for treating you so wrongly, you're arm isn't too badly scratched, is it?"

The hand resting over his eyes slid to reveal on piercing green pupil scrutinizing the drenched girl. "I didn't save you from anything; I am in charge of taking care of all of my soldiers."

"Well that seems awfully silly." Momo cocked her head, pulling her legs up to her chest to warm her up as the chilling air blew through her. "I mean you are training us for war, one of which many of us may not survive. You're job shouldn't be to take care of us, but to prepare us so that we have a better chance of saving ourselves when the time for battle comes."

The boy surveyed Masaki for a second with his cool eye before giving a grunt and turning his face away from the small boy. "Shut up, bed wetter." He grumbled, nearly unintelligible. After a few moments of silence, he heard Masaki's shaky breathing, and chanced a glance in his direction. The boy was gazing out over the stream, but his body was rigid, his arms clamped around his legs as a stiff shiver made its way up his spine. Sighing, the Captain sat up, reluctantly turning to him. "Look, why don't you strip down while I get some wood to build a fire with. I want to get back as soon as possible, but as the sun sets further it's only going to get colder so we might as well spend a little while extra to get dried off before finding a passable point in the stream to get back." He was struggling to his feet, weighed down by the heavy material when he heard the sharp squeak that blurted from the boys lips. He looked at him quizzically, though dismissed the strange noise as the kid poised to speak.

"Undress? You mean like take our clothes off?" She whispered, clutching at her drenched attire.

"What else would I mean by that idiot?" As if to emphasize his command, he slid his robe off and then began pulling his top off over his head.

"No don't!" The girl squeaked again, shrill and feminine. The boy stopped, his top still half pulled over his head, his hidden face first surprised, then melted into something calculating and ominous.

"You know what?" He finished pulling his top off, tossing it onto the ground and turning to the stiff girl. "If you don't take your clothes off you could catch a cold and spread it to the entire camp. Now if you don't want to be the cause of the downfall of the entire kingdom, I suggest you remove your clothing." He stood before her, hands on his hips, waiting expectantly.

Momo gaped up at him in disbelief. "What?" She inquired in a small voice.

"You heard me." The Captain grunted, holding his ground.

"I, I, I can't!" She blurted, throwing her arms up into the air.

"What, are your clothes pasted on you? Here, I'll take them off for you if you won't." He made to grab her but the girl scuttled away as quickly as if he were a ferocious bear.

"No! No I'm fine; really, I'll just let them dry off on me."

"And how do you suppose that will work? Why won't you just take off your clothes?" The Captain snarled at her, then continued in a darker tone; "what are you hiding?"

At this Momo became white as a sheet. "N,n,n,nothing!" She screeched, wrapping her clothes tighter around her body.

_Tell him you have a nasty scar and you don't like people seeing it!_ The voice suggested. It had been a while since she'd heard it and it gave her a small start, but she willingly took the advice.

"I have this really really disgusting scar on me and I don't want anyone to see it!" Momo threw the words at him, hoping he would be satisfied with the explanation. He only seemed to grow more annoyed.

"If that's the case then you don't have to worry, most of the men here, including myself bear many scars. You don't have to hide yourself just because of something like that." He made to grab onto her clothes but she whacked his hand away.

"No, It's really nasty and I really don't want you to see it, I swear I'm fine, really!"

"That's not necessary, you don't have to be all self-conscious, you're acting like a girl!" This time the Captain snagged her arm, in which she did her best to wriggle out of his grasp, however like the worm, it felt impossible to escape.

"I am not! You can't force me to do anything, and I told you I'm fine! Let's just go back to the camp and warm up there!"

"No, I have every right to force you to do something, I am your Captain!"

"Good Captains heed the words and opinions of their soldiers!" Momo countered, earning her a steely glare from her Captain. They were now tangled in a mess of limbs, the Captain's hand struggling with the collar of her shirt while Momo had one fist restraining his grasping hand and the other on his chest, pushing him away from her. She felt trapped, he obviously suspected something, with all the hints and his determination to have her shed her clothes.

She was panicking, she couldn't think of a way out of the situation, and he was slowly gaining the upper hand. Soon he would find out everything and she would be as good as dead. As a last ditch effort, she thought of something that may get him to stop. If she suggested the forbidden, that he liked another man, it may get him to rethink his actions.

"Stop it Captain!" She started, regaining his attention as they struggled. Before he could retort she continued; "Why do you want to see me undressed so desperately?" She paused a second, feeling ashamed for what she was about to insinuate to him, knowing full well how uncomfortable he would feel afterwards. "Could it possibly be?" She paused again, thinking one last time of any other way out of the situation. No such plan came, so she continued. "Do you like men, Captain?"

This question received the effect Momo had desired. The man went sheet white as he digested her words. His eyes raked their intertwined limbs and the compromising position he had her in. Just as quickly as he had acted to get her out of the way of the wasps, he untangled himself from her and bolted a good three meters away from her.

"Uh" He struggled to find something to say but could find no excuse in his defense.

Momo took the moment to diffuse the tension. "Why don't we head back now? It's getting late and the soldiers will be wondering what happened to us."

Assessing the opportunity Momo presented him Captain Hitsugaya nodded, still pale and weary. "There should be a narrowing of the stream a little farther down the bank." He looked the opposite way at the blob that was the bucket of fish he had caught and the fishing rod, but noticing the buzzing insects still swarming the nest, he decided to leave it and collect it another day.

The walk felt like it took forever. The awkward silence stretched on between the two and their damp clothes chilled by the cooling air slowed them down considerably. By the time they reached the camp it was already dark out. Without saying a word to the Captain, Momo parted ways with him and fled to the safety of her tent, which held warm clothes and the security of her makeshift bed.

Toushiro paced inside his large tent, wearing tread marks into the deadening grass. "Something's not right." He whispered, recounting the events of the day. "Something's definitely not right."

* * *

Ok guys, so a little bit of fun, this is just setting up for the next big stages of the plot, getting them to know each other a bit better and such. I will do my best to update asap but reviews definitely help!

I apologize once again for my lateness and hope you guys continue reading this fic!


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